Ahmedabad (Gujarat) , Jan. 12 : The International Kite Festival, Uttarayan, attracts hundreds of thousands of participants and visitors from all over the world here every year, but a lot of birds also get injured due to kite strings and some even die.

However, this year the state government and an NGO have made arrangements to provide first-aid to birds that fly into kite strings and receive fatal injuries.

About 11 centres with over 100 veterinary doctors and 1,000 plus volunteers have been set up, where animal welfare NGO Jivdaya Trust has also swung into action for the same.

The government has also requested people not to fly kites before 9 am and after 6 pm.

The initiative has been taken in the wake of increasing number of bird deaths.

Since 1989, Ahmedabad has been hosting the festival every year on the Sabarmati riverfront and lakhs of revelers come to witness the creative kites flying and clashing among themselves in air.